Master of Engineering in Engineering Management

Program Information

General Information

The Department of Industrial Engineering of the J. B. Speed School of Engineering offers a program in engineering management. The program is designed to build upon the mathematical and analytical expertise gained from prior engineering or related scientific education as well as upon his or her professional experience gained in the course of active engineering employment. The University of Louisville is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award master’s degrees.

Admission Standards

The admission standards for the M.Eng. program in engineering management are as follows:

All admission applications for the program shall include:

a completed application for University of Louisville graduate admission,

an application fee,

at least two letters of recommendation, and

official transcript(s) for all previous post-secondary coursework. All transcripts not in English must be certified as authentic and translated verbatim into English.

The minimum requirement for admission is the bachelor of science degree or its equivalent in engineering or related scientific field from an accredited institution.

The minimum undergraduate grade point average that will be considered for unconditional acceptance and admission to the program is 2.75 on a 4.00 scale.

Admission in good standing shall be made only if all admission credentials have been received, evaluated and approved and all academic requirements met. A student may be admitted provisionally if academic requirements are met but application materials are incomplete (usually missing letters of recommendation or official transcripts). Students have one semester to furnish any credentials missing at the time of admission and may not enroll for a second consecutive term in provisional status.

Any conditional acceptance shall be made on an individual basis and shall require a statement of the rationale for the exception, plans for monitoring progress and performance and stated success criteria. Such justification must be provided in writing and must be accepted by the program chair and the Speed School associate dean for academic affairs. This will allow consideration of special circumstances in which the potential for acceptable graduate performance has been clearly demonstrated by other means.

International students whose primary language is not English must show English language proficiency by either:

total score of 80 or higher on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Internet-based test or 6.5 or higher on the IELTS, or

successfully completing the exit examination for the advanced level of the Intensive English as a Second Language Program at the University of Louisville, or

demonstration of a degree award from an acceptable English language institution.

Academic Performance

The J.B. Speed School of Engineering has established the following performance policies:

The minimum grade point average requirement for good standing is 3.00 for all academic work completed while in graduate studies.

Any student who does not satisfy the published performance criteria shall be placed in probationary status. Any student who remains in probationary status for two consecutive terms may be considered for dismissal from the program.

Students receiving graduate assistantships (teaching, research or service) shall be provided adequate training and shall be required to understand and adhere to University policies related to these areas. The performance of teaching, research and service duties by such students shall be periodically evaluated. Students with teaching assistantships shall be evaluated annually.

Students who fail to meet performance goals or who do not meet other requirements as outlined in the admission letter, program requirements or the university catalog may be subject to academic dismissal from their programs.

A maximum of six hours of graduate level courses taken as an undergraduate may be used to satisfy M.Eng. degree requirements; these courses cannot have been used to also satisfy B.S. degree requirements.

Full-Time Study for Graduate Assistants

All graduate assistants receiving financial support must be enrolled as full-time students during the period for which they are receiving support.

Continuous Enrollment

Continuous enrollment is defined as being registered in fall, spring, and summer for course work or M.Eng. residency (MENG 600).

Satisfactory Progress

All graduate students are expected to make steady and satisfactory progress toward the completion of degrees. A candidate for the master of engineering degree who does not register for credit hours must maintain active registration by paying a fee each semester for M.Eng. residency until the degree is awarded (i.e., the candidate must maintain continuous registration, including summer terms, in graduate studies). Failure to pay the M.Eng. residency fee will be cause to cancel a student’s residency. Students who are not enrolled for a period of more than 3 academic terms will be considered to have withdrawn from the program.

Satisfactory progress also requires maintaining the standards of academic and professional integrity expected in a particular discipline or program and, in some disciplines, may include demonstration of the ability to function as a professional practitioner. Failure to maintain these standards or demonstrate such abilities may result in the student’s termination from the program.

Degree Requirements

The following degree requirements are mandatory of all master of engineering candidates:

The program of study must be completed with a 3.00 GPA or better for all graduate courses used to satisfy degree requirements. Additionally, the program of study must be completed with a 3.00 GPA or better for all academic work attempted in graduate studies.

Master's students must take at least 24 credit hours of course work at the University of Louisville to satisfy the residency requirement for the master’s degree. A maximum of six (6) credit hours of graduate credit may be transferred from accredited institutions.

The total requirements must be completed within six years after admission into graduate studies. The time limit imposed by the rule may be extended in individual cases upon recommendation of the department chair and approval of the associate dean for academic and student affairs.

Time Limitations for Degree-Seekers

Master's of engineering students must complete the degree requirements within six (6) years of beginning the program of study. While granting an extension of time is rare, requests for extension of time must be submitted in writing to the graduate program director of the student's department. Once reviewed by the department, the request is forwarded to the SSoE dean’s office. Students must be in good standing for the request to be considered.

Readmission to M.Eng. Programs

Students who seek to return to an M.Eng. program after an absence of 12 months or more must apply for readmission by completing an application to graduate studies in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering. The application form is available online at http://louisville.edu/speed/academics/forms/MEngGraduateStudiesApplication. If readmitted, the student will be subject to catalog requirements in effect at the time of readmission.

Course repetition policy

M.Eng. students may repeat to replace a maximum of one (1) courses with grades of C or below. For these repeated courses, only the last grade attained will be used in the grade-point average calculation. Students should be aware that all grades are displayed on the official transcript even after the repeat. A repeat form must be filed to activate this option. For courses retaken for which this option is not requested, both grades will be used in the grade point average calculation, but students cannot receive double credit in hours required for the degree.

J.B. Speed School on Engineering Procedure for Dealing with Academic Dishonesty

In accordance with The Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, academic dishonesty is prohibited at the University of Louisville.

An instructor who believes a student has committed an act of academic dishonesty will notify the student. This notification will include an explanation of the basis for the allegation and the academic penalties. Academic penalties are penalties associated with the class in question, such as resubmission of alternate assignment, F on the assignment, F for the course, etc. The student will have 10 school days to notify the instructor whether the student accepts or does not accept the academic penalties. Failure to notify the instructor within 10 school days will be interpreted as an acceptance of the academic penalty.

If the student accepts the instructor’s academic penalties the following actions will occur:

The instructor implements the academic penalties.

The instructor notifies the department chair and SSoE associate dean of academic affairs of the incident and imposed penalties within 10 school days of receiving the student’s notification of accepting the penalties.

The SSoE associate dean for academic affairs will review the documents within 10 school days of receipt and issue a decision regarding whether any administrative sanctions will be imposed on the student by the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, and whether any university-wide sanctions will be recommended to the provost. Administrative penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering or the University of Louisville. The dean will notify the student, the instructor and the department chair of this decision. The dean will forward any recommended university-wide sanctions to the provost.

3. If the student does not accept the instructor’s academic penalties, the following actions will occur:

The department chair, or, if the department chair is the instructor making the allegation, the SSoE associate dean of academic affairs will meet with the student in a timely manner.

At the meeting, the student will be provided an opportunity to present oral testimony and written evidence. The burden of establishing the student’s guilt rests with the instructor, who must do so by a preponderance of the evidence. After the meeting, the department chair or the associate dean, as appropriate, will render a decision within 10 school days of meeting with the student and submit written documentation of the incident and decision to the SSoE associate dean of academic affairs.

If the student fails to appear at the meeting a final decision will be rendered by the department chair or SSoE associate dean of academic affairs.

The SSoE associate dean for academic affairs will review the documents within 10 school days of receipt and issue a decision regarding whether any administrative sanctions will be imposed on the student by the J.B. Speed School of Engineering, and whether any university-wide sanctions will be recommended to the provost. Administrative penalties are penalties may include suspension or expulsion from the J.B. Speed School of Engineering or the University of Louisville. The dean will notify the student, the instructor and the department chair of this decision. The dean will forward any recommended university-wide sanctions to the provost.

As per the University of Louisville "Student Rights and Responsibilities," an academic unit that determines that a student is guilty of academic dishonesty may impose any academic punishment on the student that it sees fit, including suspension or expulsion from the academic unit. A student has no right to appeal the final decision of an academic unit. However, a student who believes that he or she has been treated unfairly, has been discriminated against, or has had his or her rights abridged by the academic unit may file a grievance with the unit academic grievance committee. An academic unit that suspends or expels a student from the academic unit because the student has been found guilty of academic dishonesty may recommend to the university provost in writing that the student also be suspended or expelled from all other programs and academic units of the university. Neither the student nor the academic unit shall have the right to appeal the provost’s decision. However, a student who believes that he or she has been treated unfairly, has been discriminated against, or has had his or her rights abridged by the issuance of a decision by the provost may file a grievance with the university student grievance committee.

Curriculum

Graduate Studies – M.Eng.

The Master of Engineering in Engineering Management degree requires the following courses.

Courses

Credit Hours

EM Electives1

21

Technical Electives1

9

Total Credit Hours

302

1 Electives must be chosen so that at least one-half of the credits counted toward the degree, exclusive of thesis, are 600-level. Technical electives may be taken within or outside the department and up to six (6) credit hours may be from business administration programs. All selections require the approval of the student's faculty advisor.

2 Candidates for the master of engineering degree must be completed with a 3.00 GPA or better for all graduate courses used to satisfy degree requirements. Additionally, the master of engineering degree must be completed with a 3.00 GPA or better for all academic work attempted in graduate studies. A maximum of six (6) credit hours of graduate level courses taken as an undergraduate may be used to satisfy M.Eng. degree requirements; these courses should not have been used to also satisfy B.S. degree requirements.

Faculty

The graduate faculty of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering will be responsible for the training and mentoring of graduate students within the J.B. Speed School. Membership in the graduate faculty is required to serve as a voting member on a graduate student’s thesis/dissertation committee. The thesis/dissertation advisor or one of the co-advisors must be a permanent member of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering graduate faculty in the department the graduate student is attempting to earn a degree. Members of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering graduate faculty with an ad hoc appointment can serve as a thesis/dissertation co-advisor and/or a voting member of the thesis/dissertation committee.

The following faculty have permanent appointments as graduate faculty of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering.